Improvement in slates



F. SULLIVAN.

Slate.

No. 221347. Patehted Nov. 25,1879.

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PETERS, FHOTO-UTHOGRAFHER, wAsmNGTQN. D c,

UNITED S ATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARGARET F. SULLIVAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT lN SLATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 2215947, dated November25, 1879; application filed December 16, 1878.

. To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARGARET F. SULLI- VAN, of the city of Chicago, Gookcounty, State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement inSlates, of which the following is a full description, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawing, in which the figure represents a faceview of the slate. with the copy cut thereon.

It is customary to provide the face of slates with lines cut thereon atregular distances apart, so as to leave spaces of the required width inwhich to insert the marks, letters, or characters which form the copy,the lines being so spaced as to give the relative heights of the bodyand stem of the letters and charae ters, and serving as guides to thatextent in forming the letters or other characters.

In practice, with this style of slate it is necessary to write or formthe desired copy between the lines with apencil, requiring considerablelabor and skill to do it properly, and the copy is liable to becomeblurred or erased in use, requiring the rewriting thereof.

Another objection to the use of written copies is the laborious workrequired of the teacher in having the letters and characters correctlyformed by inexperienced persons, as

with such copy the only guide for the different lines of the letters orcharacters is through the eye, which renders the formation thereof verylaborious, as well as defective.

The object of this invention is to provide slates with permanent copies,which shall be adapted to aid in forming the letters, characters, &c.,and thereby decrease the work required; and its nature consists incutting the letters and other characters in the face of the slate, thedepth of the out being sufficient to enable the lines to be followed bythe pencil, thus forming a guide for their perfect formation. a

In the drawings, A represents the slate proper; B, the frame. The slateA may be of any of the well-known forms, natural or artifieial, havingthe frame B secured thereto in any well-known manner.

Theface of the slate is provided with a series of straightparallel linescut therein, and in the spaces between such lines is arranged the matterwhich forms the copy. The lines which compose the copy are to be cut orindented-in the face of the slate, so as to be permanent, which can beaccomplished by what is known as the sand-blast process, and the depthof the cut is to be suflicient to form a guide for the pencil infollowing the lines.

In use the pencil is made to follow the cut, and, of necessity, the lineformed must be a counterpart of the out line, and a correct outline isgiven to the pencil-mark.

By thus forming the letters and characters in the face of the slate acopy is produced which is always ready for use; and by the use of suchsunken lines to guide the point of the pencil great freedoin of movementis given to the hand in guiding and using the pencils, the outlinesproduced will be uniform with the copy, the formation of the letters,850., will require less time, the labor of teaching is made more easyand less laborious, and a more uniform and correct style of writing,&c., is pro duced.

I do not confine myself to the sand-blast process for cutting orindenting the lines, as any process which will sink the lines below thesurface of the slate to form a guide-for the pencil'may be used.

I do not claim indented letters as applied to slates, as they have beenheretofore used withoutlines.

WVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As an improved article of manufacture, a slate having one or both facesprovided with indented cross-1i nes and copy cut or indented across suchlines to form guides for the pencil, substantially as specified.

MARGARET F. SULLIVAN.

Witnesses 0. W. Bonn, H. F. BRUNS.

